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127
Iman (127
M. W. S. Cartin
6 May, 1968
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RECEIVED IN
ovཏ a TH
- 7 MAY 1908
28 SECRETARY'S OFFICE
I have seen a copy of the Commonwealth
Secretary's letter of 27 March about the
stationing of fighter aircraft in Hong Kong in
/send to
Gods.
the long term and of your reply of 4 April.SWA
I fully endorse the views put forward by
the Commonwealth Secretary, and am glad to see that in the study which your Department is under- taking, the political arguments which he
adduces will be taken fully into account.
In
my view they are cogent enought to justify the deployment of fighter aircraft in Hong Kong.
As regards the justification for meeting the cost from the defence vote, Hong Kong is really a special case. The external threat
from the Chinese is unlikely to take the form of direct military intervention; initially at any rate it would probably be incitement to internal
The Rt. Hon. Denis W. Healey, MBE, MP.
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Ministry of Defence.
/disorder.